Leaving, wavering — and not signing: The troubles of Maccabi Tel Aviv

When Jack Angelides — this time in his capacity as CEO — recycles statements at a press conference about "culture, investment, and achievement," it is understood that Maccabi Tel Aviv is in distress again. The remarks come after a failed season that included three coaches, dismissals following fan protests, further dismissals against the backdrop of sexual harassment suspicions, and a 13-point gap from the champion Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

"They built a team here again for fourth or fifth place," Haim Revivo aptly described in a conversation with ynet over the weekend. "It is a badge of shame for Maccabi Tel Aviv that they continue to build on Roy Revivo, even though they have known since last year that he does not want to stay. A serious club looks for candidates as early as January. Here, three weeks before the end of the transfer window, they are still waiting for players. They are keeping high-earners who are not in the plans and are not bringing alternatives. This is another summer of poor preparation."

"The extreme failure," as Angelides defined it — who is at the center of the fan protest that distributed his image created by AI under the headline "We will die and not strengthen" — reached its peak with the elimination against CSKA Sofia in the Europa League qualifiers. The yellow summer also includes the appointment of a head coach who has never coached a senior team (Kenny Miller), the addition of a single foreign player (Aster Sokler for one million euros), and the sale of Said Abu-Farchi to the Colorado Rapids for 5 million dollars.

"We lost to a team at the level of the bottom of the Premier League or the National League," a senior player on the team rages. "Instead of Angelides taking care of bringing players as early as May, they are dealing with who is leaving and who is coming, fighting with the most important player and losing him for the first game against the weak Sofia. Every summer it is the same thing, a lack of continuity with a coach usually, and they bring players at the last minute. Look at Hapoel Be'er Sheva: a club that lost anchors knew how to bring replacements like Niv Yehoshua and Itay Rotman, and strengthened as early as January with Javon East and Mohammed Abu-Rumi. While we are flying out against Sofia, they are passing Red Star Belgrade. This is the difference between remote management and understanding the field."

There is no fire sale. The illusion of the beginning of the summer — the victory in the Champion of Champions and the five goals against Sheriff Tiraspol — dissipated very quickly, certainly after the team from Moldova later conceded eight goals from St. Gallen and showed that it was weak. Since then, the club has been in a tailspin: the elimination from the Europa League qualifiers, the saga against Roy Revivo (his father attacks sharply while his representatives try to promote an offer from Elche), Ido Shahar's desire to leave immediately for the USA, the resentment of Kervin Andrade who is not getting minutes, the disappointment of Elad Madmon and Ori Azo with their status, and the pressure ahead of the Conference League playoffs against Lugano.

A significant problem they are dealing with on the team is the roster of foreign players. Tyrese Asante is attracting interest in Italy and Helio Varela aspires to advance after scoring in the World Cup for Cape Verde, but both do not yet have an official offer. Andrade, who was purchased for 1.8 million, is sorting through loan offers and is not rushing to leave and clear a spot on the roster. At Maccabi Tel Aviv, they are only now trying to loan out Henry Addo, another failure of half a million euros, and perhaps Tondela from the second league in Portugal will take him. Ion Nicolaescu is significantly behind in his recovery from injury, but was not frozen or loaned out in time. Kristian Belic was signed for three years for 1.3 million euros, despite a suspension due to violence in the Cup final and a history of injuries, and now he is injured again and will be out for two months. This is a serious trap: until foreign players leave, it will not be possible to sign others because the quota in the club is full, but the team is not succeeding in moving on those who are not in the professional plans, and in the meantime is fighting to keep the quality ones who want to leave.

At Maccabi Tel Aviv, they clarify that there is no intention to carry out a fire sale, but the facts on the ground place an almost impossible challenge before coach Kenny Miller in managing the locker room, when he is losing players and the reinforcement is not arriving. Mitch remains in Canada while the club's management hides behind the limitations of the Financial Fair Play — a claim that seems like a smokescreen in light of the high revenues and the low investment of the owner — the new sports director, Steven Vanharen who arrived only in June, tries to calm down: "There is a strategic plan, we are starting to build. The goal is to produce results and not act out of pressure. It is impossible to change an entire team in one transfer window."

Vanharen talks about reinforcement with the Serbian defender Nikola Maras and the Belgian winger Thibaud Baten from Go Ahead Eagles, but it seems that he does not understand that in a club of this magnitude there is no time for slow building. Angelides added: "There is a lot of work that was done even from the end of last season behind the scenes to create some changes and improvements. Of course, much of this is not seen, but there is progress and I am sure that the changes will come and they will be seen soon."

In the background hovers the ongoing absence of Mitch Goldhar, who has not arrived in Israel for a long time and even refrained from issuing an official congratulatory message on winning the Cup. Angelides tries to disperse the fog: "His business in Canada needs him to be there and it is hard for him to find the time to arrive, because flying 11 hours to be here for a few days is hard, it has to be significant. The reality is that he is involved, we talk, we met, he is actively involved in key decisions and that is what is important for me. Of course, it would have been better if he were here physically, because it affects the organization a lot, especially with someone like Mitch and his style. Let's hope that this will change and let's hope that we will see him soon. That is the desire."

Captain Dor Peretz summarized the situation in the locker room well: "In order to run for all the titles, you need a deep and quality squad. I agree that we have a good team, but we must have reinforcement and refreshment with players who will pull us forward." However, at the current pace, when even Hapoel Tel Aviv and Hapoel Be'er Sheva are managing the summer in a more professional and determined way, it is highly doubtful if even the arrival of two more players will be enough to prevent another lost season.